Live Tunisian Radio Feeds & Lifestyle Blog

Jawhara FM

It would be fair to say that Jawhara FM is one of the more famous radio stations in Tunisia, although this has little to do with the content. Instead, it’s simply because this was the first private radio station to don the airways after the Tunisian authorities decided to open this up to the private sector around 2005. As such, Jawhara FM launched on 25th July 2005 and since then, it hasn’t looked back.

Who is Jawhara FM targeted at?

This is a station which is predominantly broadcast in Arabic, although there are occasions where French will sometimes occur. Its headquarters are based in Sousse and it subsequently won’t come as a surprise to hear that this is where its main target audience is based. As well as this, the likes of Monastir, Mahdia, Sfax and Nabeul hear this station – meaning that the station has one of the largest reaches in the country of approximately 3.5 million.

It’s dominance of Sousse can be highlighted through some listening figures which were published in 2008. Here it was found that it had a mammoth audience share of 71.2%, making it by far and away the most popular station. Nevertheless, it’s worth mentioning that this was down from the year before where it boasted an 82% audience share, with this thought to be due to the launch of Zitouna FM which took away some viewers.

Who forms the Jawhara FM team?

The scale of Jawhara FM means that a large team controls the station, with thirty nine people currently being part of it. These individuals aren’t just formed of industry experts either, with former footballer Zoubeir Baya and popular television host Walid Besbes being some of the most well-known names.

Jawhara FM has also received plenty of acclaim for the way in which it broadcasts foreign news stories as well. The station has correspondents in all of the big cities across the world, with London, New York, Paris and Sydney being just some of the examples. It means that they can present a lot more news than rival stations.

What content does Jawhara FM broadcast?

As well as having a large team, Jawhara FM is also comprised of young members. This translates to listeners as well, with the station regarded as one that predominantly appeals to young people.

The presenters are partly to do with this, but some of the topics that are discussed also contribute. For example, risqué subjects such as sexuality are regularly covered, with these sometimes breaching adultery and homosexuality. This is what makes Jawhara FM different from competing stations, which would not dare cover such sensitive topics on the Tunisian airwaves.